A Jones County man who pled guilty to possession and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine almost four years ago was in Superior Court last week concerning a habeas motion.

Robert Lee Graham and his wife, Charlda Lynn White Graham, were sentenced to 30 years each count one (conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine) and count two (VGCSA – possession methamphetamine) by Judge James L. Cline Jr., Sept. 24, 2009. The sentences were to run concurrent for a total of 30 years and the defendants were sentenced to serve eight of the 30 years.

Robert Graham was released on parole after serving 32 months and was back in court Feb. 7 asking for a retrial citing the reason of ineffective counsel.

Charlda Graham is ineligible for parole because of the number of her previous felony convictions and should serve her full eight years. She was not mentioned in the habeas.

Habeas corpus, literally in Latin ‘you have the body’, is a term that represents one of the basic rights granted to individuals under the U.S. judicial system. A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate requiring that an individual be brought before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue detaining them. The person being held or their representative can petition the court for such a writ.